“There’s plenty to do, particularly in Europe,” Vrattos told Skybridge Alternatives Conference attendees in Las Vegas. “Many of the things [in our portfolio] are residual from ’08, not just in the U.S. but in Europe as well.”

The firm believes in the hunt for European assets enough that “we’ve seen our investments rise from 15% in Europe to the 40s [percentage-wise] today,” he said. “I expect that it will increase.”

Part of the reason: changes in regulation. The latest round of Basel regulatory changes set into effect a few months ago is putting “pressure on banks to sell assets over time,” he said.

About Focus on Funds

As exchange-traded funds and other investing vehicles have ballooned in number, the task of figuring out what works well and what doesn’t has only gotten harder. Barrons.com’s Focus on Funds looks under the hood of ETFs, mutual funds and hedge funds for overlooked values, actionable ideas and the latest pitfalls for fund investors.

Chris Dieterich has covered the U.S. stock market for The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires. He is a graduate of Regis University and the Missouri School of Journalism.